<p><b>Abstract</b>—In this paper we present cost estimates for finding the <it>k</it>-nearest neighbors to a test pattern according to a Minkowski <it>p</it>-metric, as a function of the size of the buckets in partitioning searching algorithms. The asymptotic expected number of operations to find the nearest neighbor is presented as a function of the average number of patterns per bucket <it>n</it> and is shown to contain a global minimum.</p>